Lost Heritage in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" By contrasting the family characters in "Everyday Use," Walker illustrates the mistake by some of placing the significance of heritage solely in material objects. Walker presents Mama and Maggie, the younger daughter, as an example that heritage in both knowledge and form passes from one generation to another through a learning and experience connection. However, by a broken connection, Dee, the older daughter, represents a misconception of heritage as material. During Dee's visit to Mama and Maggie, the contrast of the characters becomes a conflict because Dee misplaces the significance